Thomas Speziale of the Saratoga County DPW, Mark Kanonik,
Ryan-Biggs Associates, P.C., and Steven Davis, LA Group, gave a presentation to
the board on the replacement of Bryant’s Bridge, over Fish Creek in the Town of
Saratoga, with a prefabricated truss bridge.The replacement is scheduled to begin in May or early June of 2005.It should take 4 to 5 months to complete,
contingent on State approvals.The
project will cost $1.275 million, 80% paid with federal funds, 15% from state
funds, and 5% with local funds.It was
noted that the new bridge will span 125’ over Fish Creek, with two 10’ driving
lanes and two 4’ shoulders.The slope
to Burgoyne Road will be minimized by gradually building up the road
approximately 5’ and this should improve the site distance as well.There will be a dry hydrant for the Fire
Department’s use and the new bridge will have no load restrictions. The bridge
will be closed during construction and the detour route will be Staffords
Bridge Road to Route 29.

Supervisor Thomas Wood gave the Rules of Procedure for Public Hearings.

Supervisor
Thomas Wood reviewed the Fire Protection Contract with the Village of Victory
with the
board, noting that the contract is for coverage for one year fromJanuary 1, 2005 through
December 31, 2005 in the amount of $8,442.Proof of Notice on January 28,
2005, having been furnished, Supervisor Thomas Wood opened the Public Hearing on the Fire Protection Contract with the Village of Victory at 7:30 pm:
No one spoke for or against the agreement. Councilman Bruce Cornell asked if
the dollar amount had increased from last year and the answer was yes, by about
$2,000.The rate was $ .88 per $1,000
assessed value last year and was $ .91 this year.Supervisor Thomas Wood made a motion to close the Public Hearing
at 7:33 p.m. and Councilman Charles Hanehan seconded it.Supervisor Thomas Wood - aye, Councilman
Fred Drumm – aye, Councilman Bruce Cornell – aye, Councilman Michael McLoughlin
- aye, and Councilman Charles Hanehan - aye.Carried 5– 0.

Supervisor Thomas Wood reviewed the Fire Protection Contract with the Village of Schuylerville with the board, noting that the contract is
for coverage for one yearfromJanuary 1, 2005 through
December 31, 2005 in the amount of $24,027.

Proof of Notice on
January 28, 2005, having been furnished, Supervisor Thomas Wood opened the Public Hearing on the Fire Protection Contract with the Village of Schuylerville at 7:34
pm: No one spoke for or against the agreement. Councilman Bruce Cornell
asked if the dollar amount had increased from last year and the answer was yes,
the rate was $ .88 per $1,000 assessed value last year and was $ .91 this year.
Supervisor Thomas Wood noted that the rate for fire protection is the same
throughout the town no matter what fire district you are in.Supervisor Thomas Wood made a motion to
close the Public Hearing at 7:36 p.m. and Councilman Charles Hanehan seconded
it.Supervisor Thomas Wood - aye,
Councilman Fred Drumm – aye, Councilman Bruce Cornell – aye, Councilman Michael
McLoughlin - aye, and Councilman Charles Hanehan - aye.Carried 5– 0.

Proof of Notice on January 28, 2005, havingbeen furnished – the following sealedbids for the
purchase of Highway Equipment were opened:

New 2005
Tandem Cab & Chassis:

vTracey
Road Equipment, Albany, NY$80,344(CAT Engine)

$76,742(Mercedes Engine)

vH
L Gage Sales, Inc., Albany, NY$84,755(CAT Engine)

vCommercial Truck &
Equip. Sales, $77,548(Mercedes Engine)

Glens Falls, NY$79,528(CAT Engine)

A
New 2005 Heavy Duty Combination Dump Body,

Snowplow Equipment and Hydraulics:

vArrowhead Equipment Inc., Queensbury, NY$54,554

vT & T Sales Inc.,
Latham, NY$56,464

Approval
of Minutes: All board members had received and read the minutes of January
10, 2005 and February 3, 2005.A motion
was made by Supervisor Thomas Wood and seconded by Councilman Fred Drumm to
accept the minutes of the January 10, 2005 and February 3, 2005 meetings as
written. Supervisor Thomas Wood - aye, Councilman Fred Drumm – aye, Councilman
Bruce Cornell – aye, Councilman Michael McLoughlin - aye, and Councilman
Charles Hanehan - aye.Carried 5– 0.

Town Clerk’s
report: January 2005: Fees paid to the County Treasurer for Dog Licenses
$65.80. Dog license fees paid to the NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets
$27.00. Fees paid to New York D.E.C. for hunting and fishing licenses $35.90.
Dog license fees to Supervisor Thomas Wood $169.20. Clerk fees to Supervisor
Thomas Wood $129.10. Total State, County, and Local Revenues received were
$449.50.

Zoning Officer’s
report:January 2005: 2 Building Permits, 6 C.O.’s, and 14 Building
inspections were done.A check for
$405 was given to Supervisor Thomas Wood.

Supervisor Thomas Wood
explained that it has been recommended by Town Engineer Kenneth Martin that the
Letter of Credit for $390,000 provided by the Nielson Landing Subdivision,
Victor Gush, can be reduced to $94,000 since part of the project has been
satisfactorily completed.The
connections to the county sewer system have been completed, on-site drainage,
and preliminary roadwork has been completed.

Supervisor Thomas Wood
made a motion to reduce the amount required in the Letter of Credit to $94,000,
due to parts of the project being completed and that Victor Gush and the
Charter One Bank be notified of this amendment to the Letter of Credit.Councilman Fred Drumm seconded it.
Supervisor Thomas Wood - aye, Councilman Fred Drumm – aye, Councilman Bruce
Cornell – aye, Councilman Michael McLoughlin - aye, and Councilman Charles
Hanehan - aye.Carried 5– 0.

Supervisor Thomas Wood
reported that first meeting of the fifteen member building committee met on
February 10th.They
reviewed the many functions of government that are carried out at the town hall
and the previous efforts by the town to plan for a new town hall.Assignments were given to committee members
to speak with their neighbors to get ideas for a new town hall and to check out
possible sites for the building.

Supervisor Thomas Wood
added that the LA Group would present a conceptual plan for a town hall at the
next building committee meeting on March 10th and committee members
will report on the information gathered as assigned. They will also further
review the town’s needs regarding the size and design of the town hall.

Public comments on
agenda items:

Sean Kelleher commented on Local Law #1 of 2005.He felt that the specific part of the law
regarding the site plan review dealing with a full SEQR review would require
more than the 60 days specified in order to be done thoroughly.

Penelope Benson-Wright voiced questions on the procedures in regard to the
Environmental Assessments and the Negative Declarations.She was told that the Planning Board would
also do a negative declaration on the project and would be the lead agency on
the second step.She questioned if
there really was no impact on the environment.Supervisor Thomas Wood stated that the Planning Board in the next steps
would require further details and closer scrutiny.

Kathleen Bartholomay thanked the board for their support for the
Thompson-Clarks Mills Residents Committee for a Heritage Corridor Park.She gave the board their vision statement.

Sam Aldrich spoke on the dissatisfaction of some town residents
with the current zoning laws.He
recommended to the board to make time to discuss zoning law changes at town
board meetings and to ask for public comments.Supervisor Thomas Wood reported that we have allocated funds to hire a
professional firm to help with the updating and reorganization of our zoning
regulations.Some areas of concern that
have been brought to his attention are the need for a noise ordinance, mass
gatherings ordinance and adult entertainment ordinance along with open space
and others.The public’s input will be
appreciated.

Marilyn Zaborek asked for assistance from the board on the flow the
PUD process takes. She also stated that she doesn’t agree with many of the answers
given on the Environmental Assessment form. She stated that the PUD zoning
provision guts the zoning in the town and that this proposal provides a huge
commercial wallop to the town.She
stated that she was unable to find the legal ads relating to the passage of the
Zoning Amendment allowing for PUD’s last July.Supervisor Thomas Wood assured her that the legal ads were placed and
all necessary steps were followed.He
also noted that one of the recommendations in our current Comprehensive Plan
was to allow for the provision of PUD’s as we are one of the few remaining
towns in Saratoga County that didn’t have that provision. Supervisor Thomas
Wood explained the process as follows: the applicant applies to the town board,
the town board can deny it and it ends there, or if they find it has merit or
needs further study, it is sent to the Planning Board for further review, then
the Planning Board, after review, renders a recommendation back to the Town
Board, the Town Board reviews their recommendations and either approves it with
the passage of a Zoning Amendment for the specific Planned Unit Development
District for the parcel, or can deny it (even if the Planning board gave a
positive recommendation, it can be denied with a super majority vote of the Town
Board).If the law is passed, it goes
back to the Planning Board for site plan review and for coverage of all the
specifications included in the PUD District Zoning Law.Supervisor Thomas Wood suggested that a flow
chart would be helpful and with the help of professionals we hope to have flow
charts for many of the planning processes.

Sam Aldrich stated that he agrees with all that Marilyn Zaborek
spoke of.He urges the board to table
the law and to wait for the professional zoning regulation review.He asked the board to slow down the process,
to allow time to study the law.

Penelope Benson-Wright stated that she agrees with Sam Aldrich to table the
law and wait for zoning regulation reviews.She also suggested a moratorium until the revisions and updates to the
Zoning Ordinance are done.

Marilyn Zaborek stated that she feels that the town is not equipped
with the expertise to handle the housing projects that are coming our way or
for the huge structures that are proposed in the PUD.

Committee reports:

Highway: Highway
Superintendent Grant Seymour reported things have been quiet and the crews are
cutting dead limbs and trees where necessary.

Landfill: No
report.

Insurance: No
report.

Youth Committee
report: No report.

Buildings: No
report.

Senior Citizens
report: Councilman Bruce Cornellreported that on Tuesday, February 1st, 70 seniors attended a
luncheon at the American Legion and today 80 seniors attended a Valentine’s Day
luncheon in the basement of the Town Hall.

Park Committee report:
Councilman Michael McLoughlin reported that Dr. Leon Reed gave a
presentation to the Town Board last Thursday on the land acquisition that is
being pursued by the Schuylerville Central School District.It was noted that it would be a temporary
solution for ball fields for the town but a town park would still be needed for
a permanent solution. Sites for a town park are still being pursued.

Old Business:
None

New Business:

Supervisor Thomas Wood
explained that prior to this time the town has always had a constable presiding
on court nights.But after discussions
with Town Attorney William Reynolds and Justice Jack Ditch regarding the needs
of the town and the functions that the constable was performing, it was
determined that instead of appointing a Constable, the more appropriate title
would be a Uniform Court Officer.

Resolution #05-32 adopting Local Law #1of 2005, the Saratoga Country
Inn PUD District, was introduced by Councilman Fred Drumm and seconded by
Supervisor Thomas Wood as follows:

WHEREAS, the Town Board and the Planning Board of the Town of Saratoga has
reviewed the Saratoga Country Inn PUD application and acknowledges its merits
for the town; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga has held a public hearing and received input from the townspeople,
now therefore be it,

RESOLVEDby the Town Board of the
Town of Saratoga to adopt Local Law # 1 of 2005, adding Article X–A, the
Saratoga Country Inn PUD District to the Zoning Ordinance.

Supervisor Thomas Wood asked for any further
discussion.Supervisor Thomas Wood then
stated that after reviewing the land use goals in the Comprehensive Plan his
evaluation is that the proposal meets 11 of the 22 goals.It maintains 111 acres in open space and
agricultural use and the law does make provision for the Agriculture Disclosure
Statement to be contained in it.He
further stated that the proposal puts little or no strain on the school
district. The Planning Board has positively recommended the proposal with a
unanimous vote of 7 to 0.The proposal
will produce a sizable assessed value to add to the tax rolls, along with
additional sales tax revenues and jobs.It will be subject to a thorough site plan review and an additional
comprehensive SEQR and environmental assessment.

Councilman Michael McLoughlin stated that he
understands the concerns of the residents with regard to water and the
environment but the Planning Board will scrutinize them in the subsequent
steps.He commented regarding
infrastructure concerns that the Quaker Springs Fire Department is pursuing
additional fire protection coverage through a satellite station.Since there were no further comments by the
board the roll was taken:

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga has held a public hearing and received input from the townspeople
on the contract for Fire Protection with the Village of Victory, now therefore
be it,

RESOLVED by the Town Board of the Town of Saratoga to
authorize entering into the fire protection contract with the Village of
Victory for the term of January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005 and the Town
will pay the Village the sum of $8,442.00.The full agreement is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga has held a public hearing and received input from the townspeople
on the contract for Fire Protection with the Village of Schuylerville, now
therefore be it,

RESOLVED by the Town Board of the Town of Saratoga to
authorize entering into the fire protection contract with the Village of
Schuylerville for the term of January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005, and
the Town will pay the Village the sum of $24,027.00.The full agreement is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.

Resolution #05-35 was introduced by Councilman Bruce Cornell
and seconded by Councilman Charles Hanehan as follows:

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga is authorized by virtue of Section 122 (B) of the General Municipal
Law of the State of New York to provide general ambulance service for the town,
and

WHEREAS, the GENERAL SCHUYLER EMERGENCY SQUAD has trained and experienced personnel and is certified by the Department
of Health of the State of New York as an ambulance service, and

WHEREAS, the GSES is desirous of
furnishing emergency medical services to the town under the terms and
conditions set forth in the EMS agreement,
now therefore be it,

RESOLVED by the Town Board of the Town of Saratoga to
authorize entering into the EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) AGREEMENT
with the GENERAL SCHUYLER EMERGENCY
SQUAD, for a term of January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005 and will
provide consideration in the amount of $128,688.00.The full agreement is on file in the office of the Town
Clerk.

Supervisor Thomas Wood
asked for discussion on the Highway bids that were received. Highway
Superintendent Grant Seymour expressed that he prefers the CAT engines since he
has had good luck with them and the service is great.

Resolution #05-36 was introduced by Councilman Fred Drumm and
seconded by Supervisor Thomas Wood as follows:

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga received bids via solicitation of bids by public advertising for a
New 2005 Tandem Cab & Chassis, Specification TOS 02-05, and Commercial
Truck & Equipment Sales, Inc., P.O. Box 476, Glens Falls, NY 12801 was the
low bidder at $ 79,528 (with a CAT engine); therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Town Board of the
Town of Saratoga to accept the bid from Commercial Truck & Equipment Sales,
Inc., P.O. Box 476, Glens Falls, NY 12801,

Resolution
#05-38 was
introduced by Councilman Charles Hanehan and seconded by Supervisor Thomas Wood
as follows:

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga recognizes the benefits of a Washington/Saratoga Bi-County Park for
attracting business to the town and for the benefit of all the residents,
therefore be it

Resolution
#05-40 was
introduced by Councilman Fred Drumm and seconded by Councilman Charles Hanehan
as follows:

WHEREAS, a proposal has been made
that the Town of Hadley and the Town of Saratoga enter into an intermunicipal
agreement providing for bus transportation to the 2005 Association of Towns
Meeting, which is being held in New York City,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Hadley
and the Town of Saratoga enter into an intermunicipal agreement which provides
that:

The Town of Hadley will
provide bus seats to the 2005 Association of Towns Meeting for $37.35 per
reservation with the understanding that the seats are a non-refundable
purchase.The bus will depart and
return to pre-designated areas.

The Town of Hadley will
provide receipts for paid reservations for bus transportation to the
Association of Towns Meeting.

The Town of Hadley will
pay for no other cost or amount or consideration.

The term of the
agreement shall be from February 20, 2005 through February 23, 2005.

Supervisor
Thomas Wood reported that he has been working with Tracey Clothier, of the LA
Group, regarding the creation of anapplication for a grant that would provide further
direction to the town for a plan for the creation of open space, parks, and the
preservation of agriculture.A joint
grant application with the Town of Northumberland would improve the likelihood
of receiving the grant and they have similar needs.There would be no cost incurred by the town.

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town
of Saratoga recognizes the benefits of a Quality Communities Grant which would
be used for projects that protect open space in order to protect natural
resources and improve community life, and

WHEREAS, the Town of Saratoga would
be a partner with the Town of Northumberland in this grant, since both towns
share common borders and have common issues related to growth and open space
conservation, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Town Board of The Town of Saratoga authorizes
The LA Group to apply to the Department of State’s Qualities Community Program
for a Protecting Open Space and Critical Environmental Resources Grant.Supervisor
Thomas Wood - aye, Councilman Fred Drumm – aye, Councilman Bruce Cornell – aye,
Councilman Michael McLoughlin - aye, and Councilman Charles Hanehan - aye.Carried 5– 0.

Communications:

The Quaker Springs
Fire Department is offering a CPR course on Thursday, February 24, 2005 from 6
p.m. to 9 p.m. at the firehouse. There is no charge but reservations are
required.Please call the non-emergency
number -584-3349.

Stephen Bodnar
provided the board with an article from the January issue of TheAmerican Agriculturist magazine
regarding the soaring prices of farmland in the Northeast.

Supervisor Thomas
Wood reported on information received from Union College regarding a lecture
titled Sustainable Development: Balancing Growth, Preservation and the
Environment. The lectures will be held at Union College on February 24-25,
2005. The information will be given to the Zoning and Planning Boards.For more information or to register contact
ECOS @ 370-4125.

Privilege of the floor:

Sean Kelleher commented that during the SEQR process with the
Planning Board another public hearing is required for the Saratoga Country Inn,
PUD.

Penelope Benson-Wright asked that the public be
notified when open meetings are held for the Saratoga Country Inn, PUD.Supervisor Thomas Wood stated he would put
them on the web page.

Marilyn Zaborek asked what rules of procedure are followed at Public
Meetings?Supervisor Thomas Wood
responded that we follow the Rules of the Board that were adopted by Resolution #05-01 at the January
organizational meeting of the Town Board along with Roberts Rules of
Order.

Sam Aldrich spoke about the benefits for the town of joining the
NY Planning Federation.The cost is
$150 per year.Supervisor Thomas Wood
added he would include it on the March agenda.

Pat Peck spoke about the workshop being presented on Wednesday,
February 16th at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office, 50 West
High Street, Ballston Spa regarding the Purchase of Development Rights
(PDR).Supervisor Thomas Wood noted
that one would be held in Washington County on Wednesday, March 2 (692-7285)
and in Rensselaer County on Tuesday, March 15 (272-4210) if you cannot make the
Saratoga County workshop.

Richard Behrens thanked the board for supporting the GSES
agreement.Supervisor Thomas Wood
thanked the GSES for all their outstanding service throughout the year.Councilman Charles Hanehan asked if there
are any formal plans for fundraising for the new facility?Richard Behrens replied that they have had
discussions with Cambridge for ideas.They are speaking with several designer/builders and have some designs.Once they have a better idea of the dollars
needed, fundraising plans will be formalized.

The next
building committee meeting & agenda meeting will be on Thursday, March 10th
at 6:00 p.m.The next regular meeting
will be Monday, March 14, 2005 at 7:00 pm.

Councilman Michael
McLoughlin left at 9:00 p.m.

Audit the Bills: Per
abstract 02/14/2005 (2G): General A $13,852.30, General B $1,850.27, Youth $0,
(2H): Highway Outside $25,158.02, Trust & Agency $1,000, for a total
expense of $41,860.59.